Jazz, Trumpets, and Spaghetti
by FiveForFighting09
Summary: Tony never had a blueprint of how a family should look. He's still not absolutely sure but maybe it has something to do with Jazz music, old trumpets, and homemade spaghetti. Part of the Ben!Verse. Set after "You Are A Runner..." and "No Words Needed".
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Yes. This isn't an update of the Unknown Song. This is part of the Ben!Verse. If I was coherent enough, I would be extremely ashamed. But this story demanded to be written. And I did not have enough brain power to resist. However. **

**The update for Unknown Song will be up by FRIDAY! I promise. I have two day break before I start studying for finals again. And someone asked if Tony would ever keep in touch with Ben's family. Well….**

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. So that means Ben, AJ, Morgan, Martin, Benny and April are mine! :D

* * *

"Tony?" Tim asked hesitantly. This wasn't something he normally did. He was the junior field agent on this team. Normally, he was only in charge of keeping track of Ziva, who was technically a probie on the team, and even then, Ziva rarely need to be looked after.

But Abby had gotten a weird call from Tony's cell phone and because Tim had been up playing his video games, Abby hadn't minded calling him and asking him ever so demandingly to get off his butt and go find his partner and friend.

And he had found Tony exactly where his phone had said he'd be- at a sleezy bar in the middle of Downtown.

"Probie," Tony slurred, and even though his tone seemed happy, no smile graced Tony's face, "Wasit doing here?"

"I should be asking that same question Tony," Tim said as he maneuvered around a slightly drunk patron, "It's Monday Tony. You have any idea how pissed Gibbs is going to be when you come in tomorrow with a hangover?"

"M'nday, drinkin'," Tony mumbled before dozing off, practically falling off his chair before catching himself.

"Sorry I didn't say anything in the cell phone," the bar tender said, looking at Tony before at Tim, "He said I wouldn't have to and that some girl named Addie would be able to figure it out."

"Yeah, thanks," Tim said, nodding his thanks before looking at Tony, "Did you drive Tony?"

"Noo," the word was slurred and Tony shook his head before resting it on the counter, "alked here."

"You walked here?" Tim asked, slightly flabbergasted.

"Yep," Tony said before moaning slightly, "Head urtss."

"He's puked once," the bartender looked a bit nervous, "Sorry but he walked in and he didn't seem drunk at all. Ordered a beer before he hit the heavy stuff. I stopped him, as soon as I realized that he must have had some more alcohol before coming here, but he should be alright, though I think he's gonna hurl again."

The bartender handed a mop bucket to Tim before walking away to finish cleaning so that he could close the place up.

Sure enough, Tony vomited a few minutes later, the stench causing Tim to gag slightly. Glad that the last person had left the bar, Tim held the puke bucket for a few more moments before the bartender showed him the janitor's sink.

"Tony, you owe me big for this one," Tim mumbled cleaning out the bucket and trying not to breathe through his nose.

"You can keep it," the bartender said as he help maneuver Tony to Tim's car, "The guy's helped me out of a pickle tons of times. I don't mind returning the favor, though I'm sorry that he got so bad."

"It's not your fault," Tim said, "And thanks for the bucket. You sure he'll be alright?"

"Should be," the bartender nodded, "He's thrown up a few times so at least he doesn't have any more alcohol in his stomach. Now he just needs to process the stuff he still has. He'll have a hell of a hangover tomorrow though."

"Yeah," Tim said, "And um, thanks again, for calling."

The bartender just waved as he walked back into the building to finish closing up the store.

* * *

"Tony, wake up," Tim huffed, knowing he wouldn't have a chance of getting Tony up the stairs to his apartment. While he briefly had thought of taking Tony to his own apartment, he had realized with on the way back from the bar that a few months ago, Tony had told him he had moved. And despite the many invites to come see the new place, he had yet to accept any offers and as such, he had no idea where Tony lived.

So here he was trying to get a practically comatose Tony up two flights of stairs at two in the morning.

"Need help?"

"Boss!" Tim jumped, almost dropping Tony in the process, "You-how-I-"

Gibbs just raised an eyebrow at Tim's stuttering.

"Abby called you, didn't she?"

Nodding, Gibbs walked over and supported half of Tony's weight, helping Tim get the larger man up the stairs before settling him on the futon in Tim's living room.

"He tell you why he decided to go on a bender McGee?" Gibbs asked while he took off Tony's shoes and jacket with a kindness Tim had never seen Gibbs show to Tony before.

"He could barely talk," McGee answered, "He didn't tell me much of anything."

"Hmm," Gibbs hummed before throwing a blanket over Tony's prone form, "You got him?"

"Yeah Boss," McGee said, almost automatically. Tony was his partner. Answering yes to that question had almost become a reflex action- he didn't even have to think about it.

"Don't give him too much hell," Gibbs said before leaving a few moments later, "Hangover will be enough. Just make sure he makes it to the office. I'll take care of him."

Grimincing slightly at the foreboding tone in Gibbs' words, Tim nodded before wishing his Boss goodnight, closing and locking the doors behind him.

"M'ndays are for dr'nkin'…"

"Tony?" McGee asked, hearing Tony mumbled something.

But all he received was a snore in reply.

Sighing, Tim placed the bucket, a water bottle and two Advil's on the coffee table before heading to his own bed. He was not looking forward to waking up in a few hours.

* * *

When Tim woke up at 0700, he was looking forward to seeing how Tony handled his alcohol, or more aptly, his hangover. Tim didn't necessarily want Tony to feel bad, but still. Call it pay back if you will.

Although he wasn't looking forward to what Gibbs had planned for DiNozzo as soon as he got to the office.

So when he walked into an empty living room, Tim was a bit bewildered.

"Tony?" Tim called out into the apartment, wondering when Tony had left. He couldn't have left the apartment. Tim had installed a security system after that whole stalker incident, and the system would have alerted him if any of the windows or doors had been opened before he disengaged the alarm.

"DiNozzo?" Tim asked once more, walking into the kitchen, his nose picking up the smallest traces of fresh brewed coffee.

Seeing the pot on the burner, Tim glanced around but only found an empty cup and a note.

_Sorry about last night McGee. Made some coffee, though it might be cold by the time you wake up. I'll be gone for a few days, nothing serious, just visiting an old friend. I sent the leave to Gibbs and the Director so I would avoid the Boss until he's read his email or talked to Vance._

_Thanks for the couch and Advil. I snagged the whole bottle of it, if you don't mind. Pay you back when I get back._

_Oh, and tell Abby not to worry._

Knowing that this wasn't going to end well at all, Tim felt the coffee pot, found that it was indeed cold, and dumped the remaining liquid down the drain. He would pick up a fresh cup on his way to work.

And while he was there, he should pick up one for Gibbs. Because he sure was going to need it after he found out about Tony.

* * *

Tony hummed a tune by Archie Shepp as he speed along the highway.

AJ was turning 12 in a few days, but that wasn't the only reason to visit Morgan and her small little brood.

It would be the 10 anniversary of Ben's death and even though Morgan had remarried six years ago, Tony wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let his best friend's wife go through this kind of anniversary by herself.

Hopefully, Morgan wouldn't notice that Tony had one of the worst hangovers of his adult life. But in the event that Morgan did notice, she would understand, Tony knew that much for certain.

Reaching for his phone as it rang again, Tony was happy to see that it was AJ, not someone from his team.

"_Uncle Tony!" _Tony heard AJ say on the line, _"Mom says you're coming for my birthday party?"_

"Yeah Squirt," Tony smiled, despite everything. AJ had turned out to be a good kid, a chip off the old block Morgan would always say, and Tony loved talking to his godchild who was more like his nephew, "I'll be there soon actually. And I have a surprise for you."

"_How big of a surprise?" _AJ asked and Tony could hear the smile on the boy's face.

"You're just going to have to wait and see," Tony laughed, "But I got to go AJ. Tell your Mom that I'll call when I hit the city limits, alright?"

"_Alright Uncle Tony," _AJ said, _"Oh, and April and Benny say high too!"_

Tony smiled, thinking of AJ's younger siblings, "Tell them I say hi too. I'll see you in a bit."

"_Kay,"_ AJ said before ending the phone call.

Tony looked at his phone and debated whether or not to turn it off. No doubt Abby would be tracing it as soon as he didn't show up for work and Gibbs would probably be calling him for an explanation soon.

The only question remained was: Did Tony want to continue to keep this aspect of his life a secret from the team?

Knowing that he didn't know how to answer that question, Tony kept his phone on but threw it in the glove compartment. If they wanted to, they could find him.

But he would not answer their phone calls until he was safely back in DC.

* * *

"_Ben, what the heck are you doing?" Tony asked as he sat down beside his friend in the hot bull pen, the A/C once again picking the "best" time to go on the frizz- right in the middle of a freaking heat wave._

"_Nothing," Ben slid whatever he had been hunched over under a stack of filed reports, "So, we got a case?"_

_Tony scowled at his partner's secrecy but decided not to call him on it, "No. But what do you say we take a lunch break?"_

"_Alright," Ben stood, before grabbing his badge and gun in a unconscious manner, "So, what about that veggie place right down the street?"_

_Tony looked at his partner with something akin to horror, "Blasphemy."_

"_Awh come one," Ben laughed, "Morgan has been riding my butt to start eating healthier. She says heart attacks can run in the family and she doesn't want me to die like my dad did."_

_Cringing slightly at the memory of Ben's father dying so tragically, Tony begrudgingly agreed, "Fine. But tonight, we are going to a bar. A bar that serves pizza. And lots and lots of fries."_

_Ben laughed, "Only if you play the piano again."_

_Tony rolled his eyes and shoved his partner towards the exit._

* * *

"_I am not going to play the piano at your son's third birthday Ben," Tony laughed, shaking his head as they drove through the streets of Baltimore, "I'm still regretting the day you caught me playing the piano in the first place. You think I want to make that fact widely known?"_

_Ben shook his head, "Come on man, it'll be a surprise. AJ adores you already and Morgan wanted live music. If it helps any, I'm going to be playing too."_

"_Like you can play anything," Tony scoffed._

_Ben's eye twinkled mischievously, "Come on. For AJ."_

_Rolling his shoulders as they neared the crime scene Tony sighed, "Fine."_

* * *

"Uncle Tony!" AJ smiled when he saw the familiar car pull into the driveway, "You made it!"

"Corse I made it Squirt," Tony ruffled the kid's hair, glad to see that AJ still held a spark of "kid-ness" in him and had yet to enter full teenage mode, "Even bad guys couldn't keep me away."

"Uncle Tony," AJ rolled his eye, a smile on his face, "I haven't used that phrase since I was a little kid."

"What?" Tony turned, his eyes wide in shock, "You mean, you're all grown up now? But what happened?" He picked AJ up as if he was examining a test subject, "Was it time travel? Or an evil experiment gone awry?"

"Uncle Tony," AJ said and shrugged away, his voice holding that exasperated tone that kids his age started using around adults, "I'm twelve now. I'm almost a teenager."

"Oh please don't remind me," Tony playfully shoved the kid.

Taking a few more steps, Tony noticed AJ's sudden 180 degree change in moods.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked, looking down to the red head kid at his side.

AJ just shook his head in reply.

Tony glanced around for a second before sweeping him up into a bear hug, "Man I missed you."

"I missed you too Uncle Tony," AJ held on tightly, grabbing fistfuls of Tony's shirt.

Suddenly feeling a wetness on his chest, Tony looked down at AJ alarmed, "Squirt, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," AJ mumbled.

"No," Tony said, loosening his hold slightly to get a clear view of AJ's face, "What's wrong? Everything okay at school?"

"School's fine," AJ said before sighing, "Mom's fighting with Martin again."

Rubbing his hand with one face, using it as a gesture to compose himself, Tony bit his lip before responding, "All adults fight. Even when they love each other."

"But I don't like it," AJ said, and Tony saw a flash of…something in AJ's eyes before the kid wiped his face frantically, "You must think I'm a baby, crying for a stupid reason."

Tony shook his head, rubbing AJ's back before standing and drawing the kid near to him, "No. It's alright to cry."

"Martin says it's for babies," AJ said, "He got mad at Benny for crying after he hurt his knee yesterday. Said that men don't cry."

"Well," Tony sighed, "I guess I'm not a man then."

Turning and looking up at his Uncle, Ben's eyes widen in shock, "You cried when you were old?"

"Oh yeah," Tony nodded, "A couple times. And no one said I couldn't. When you're sad enough, you cry. It's the normal thing to do."

"Well," Ben shrugged as they reached the door to his house, "Can you tell Martin that? Cause he gets really mad at mom because she cries all the time."

Tony heart contracted forcefully in his heart and his stomach dropped. He had hoped…

Deciding that he would put on his happy face until AFTER this week was over, Tony opened the door and allowed AJ to lead him to the backyard where everyone else was waiting.

* * *

"_Dude," Tony said, setting up his keyboard, "You didn't tell me how many people you invited."_

"_About that," Ben at least had the presence to look contrite, "I might have, uh, invited some people from work."_

"_You what?!" Tony practically yelled, happy that the laughter of children drowned out his outburst, "Like how many people?"_

"_Well," Ben shrugged, "The Chief, his family…and Jen, Mike, Nate, Martin…"_

_Tony scowled, "So basically every detective in our precinct."_

"_Oh no," Ben shook his head, smiling, "I invited some officers too."_

"_I'm going to kill you," Tony seethed, making a grab for Ben's neck._

_Ben laughed, "You'll have to catch me first!"_

* * *

"Uncle Tony!" Benny and April, each appearing out of nowhere as they latched onto his legs, "Did you see did you see? Mom has a piano for you and everything!"

Smiling as he gave the five year old and six year old a one armed hug, he waited till he had full reign over his legs before answering, "A piano? For me? But I can't play!"

"Uncle Tony," Benny, younger of the two, said, "You played last year, remember?"

"It's not good to lie Uncle Tony," April smirked.

"I'm just playing with you," Tony smiled before standing, almost running into Martin.

"Hey," Martin said, extending a hand, "Glad you made it."

Seeing that they would maintain their façade of being friends, Tony shook Martin's hand briefly, before letting go, "Glad I'm here."

Martin's eyes pinched in annoyance, before he mumbled something about the grill and walked away.

"Dad's been in a bad mood all day," Benny said, tugging on Tony's leg, "Mom says to eave him alone."

"Benny!" April said, "Mom said not to tell anyone!"

Benny scowled before looking from his sister to Tony, "You don't mind me telling you right Uncle Tony? You can keep a secret right?"

Not liking the way his gut was suddenly churning, Tony put on a fake smile and nodded, "Cross my heart."

"Alright then," Benny said before running back towards the jumping balloon.

Watching Martin for a few moments, Tony decided to find Morgan. Hopefully, his gut would be wrong.

* * *

"_What is that?" Tony asked, looking at the case that Ben had just placed on the floor._

"_It's the surprise," Ben smiled, "I know you hate playing in front of people but I figured you'd play more often if you had a partner."_

"_So you learned to play," Tony waited momentarily while Ben pulled out the gleaming instrument, "the trumpet?"_

_Ben smiled and played a few notes, "What do you think?"_

_Tony just shook his head and laughed, "Well then."_

_Ben, knowing that he had really surprised his friend, laughed along with his partner as they got ready to play._

* * *

"Morgan," Tony smiled, catching sight of her amongst the crowd, "This is a wonderful- what happened to your eye?"

Tony reached out gently, shocked at the way Morgan's eye lid was almost swollen shut, and touched the bruise, stopping when Morgan flinched.

"Oh this?" Morgan laughed it off, "Decided to walk into a wall yesterday when I was doing the laundry. Martin took me to the ER and everything, they said it was just a nasty bruise, no damage done."

Starring at her, Tony didn't take his gaze off the bruise, "Walked into a wall?"

"Uh yeah, clumsy me," Morgan said before giving Tony a hug, "So how was the drive?"

"Longer than I remember," Tony smiled, deciding that they would talk about her eye later, "Everyone seems to be doing okay."

Morgan nodded, "Yeah, the kids are great, getting bigger all the time. Martin got a promotion though, so things have been stressful around here, with the longer hours and bigger case load."

Tony hummed, watching as AJ skirttered around his step father, seemingly talking to him but never keeping eye contact with the older man for long.

"And AJ and Martin? How are they getting along?"

"You know how it is," Morgan sighed, "AJ remembers Ben a little and I think Martin feels like he can't measure up to AJ's memory of his father."

"No one can measure up to him," Tony mumbled before shaking his head.

"Tony," Morgan said, "Please, not now. It's AJ's birthday."

"I'm staying in town for the rest of the week," Tony said suddenly, "I'll rent a room at a hotel close to here. Figure I had enough leave time, and AJ said he had a YMCA flag football game this weekend and I promised him I'd catch at least four of his games."

"Tony, you don't have to stay at a hotel," Morgan said, placing a hand on Tony's arm, "Martin won't mind."

"No Morgan," Tony smiled, knowing she would choose not to see the lack of warmth behind it, "I don't want to intrude. It is, as Martin reminds me every chance he can, Martin's house now. And he won't have another man sleeping under his roof."

"Tony," Morgan sighed, "Why can't you just-"

"Morgan!" Martin yelled from the grill, practically glaring at Tony for talking to his wife while he wasn't in the vicinity, "Come over here!"

"Duty calls," Morgan laughed, hurrying over to her husband's side.

Playing with the hem of his jacket, Tony smoothed his hair down in worry before going back to the car. He'd forgotten AJ's gift inside.

* * *

"_Dude!" Tony laughed, "You can play!"_

"_You doubted me?" Ben said in mock hurt, "Tony, I don't know how our friendship will recover after that crippling blow."_

_Tony rolled his eyes, "Drama queen much?"_

_Ben smiled, putting his trumpet away, "I believe we have official broken up AJ. I will now start my solo career, without you, and continue my rise to fame and fortune. One day, you will look back on this moment and regret your decision to scorn me."_

"_I think," Tony said, turning off the keyboard, "One day I will look back on this day and realize that my best friend has gone off the deep end."_

"_Water's warm, y__ou're welcomed to join anytime!" Ben called out before he disappeared around the corner, in search of food._

_Tony just shook his head and smiled when little AJ wandered over and gestured to be picked up._

"_Hey little guy," Tony said, turning on the keyboard for AJ, "One day, you're daddy will teach you how to play."_

_AJ nodded and banged on the keys, laughing and smiling at the noises he made._

* * *

"Hey Squirt," Tony called AJ over, "You ready for your present?"

"But I opened all of them already," AJ said, looking suspiciously at the object Tony held in his hand, "Is that your surprise?"

"Yeah," Tony smiled, "Be careful with it. It's very old."

AJ nodded, reaching for the container with gentle hands. Removing the bow that Tony had tied around the black case, his hands quickly undid the two latches holding the case close.

AJ opened the case slowly, his eyes widening in disbelief, "Wow."

Tony smiled sadly, his heart hurting. He shouldn't be the one doing this. Ben should be…

"It was your father's," Tony said quietly, reaching over and picking the trumpet out of the case, "We played together all the time. Once we played at your third birthday. He had been learning Jazz to play along with me."

AJ's light green eyes widen considerably, "The video?"

"Yeah," Tony nodded, knowing that his nephew was talking about the video that his mother let him watch for every birthday. The video recorded parts of Tony and Ben playing, but it also showed Ben and Tony grilling, AJ playing with his dad, and the whole police squad playing a game of touch football. It was one of the only videos Tony had had of Ben and when AJ had turned six, he had given it to the boy so that he could see his father the way he had been- smiling, laughing and happy.

"I," AJ said, swallowed convulsively, looking around, "No, I don't want it."

Shocked by AJ's reaction, Tony placed his hand on AJ's arm, "AJ, it's alright. Your dad would have wanted you to have it."

"But," AJ bit his lip, a habit he had no doubt picked up from Tony, "But it'll get ruined."

"I know," Tony said, placing the trumpet back in AJ's arms, "That you will take good care of it."

"No Uncle Tony," AJ whispered, "Take it. It'll get ruined. Martin-" AJ bit his lip hard and shook his head, pushing the trumpet and case back towards Tony, "I don't want it. My dad played with you, you keep it."

Tony carefully took the trumpet back, before placing it back in its case, "AJ, what where you going to say about Martin?"

Looking outside, where Martin was laughing with someone that Tony didn't recognize, he shook his head, "He doesn't like it when I talk about my dad. He gets really _really_ mad at mom Uncle Tony. I don't want to get mom in trouble."

His gut now churning in full force, Tony leant forward blocking AJ's view of his step father, "AJ, you know that it's always right to tell the truth right?"

AJ looked at Tony and nodded.

"And you know," Tony said, his voice almost a whisper, "That I would say that unless the answer you gave me was really important, right?"

AJ nodded again.

"I don't want you to be scared," Tony said, placing a hand on AJ's arm, "Remember, I can keep the bad guys away."

AJ smiled slightly at Tony's comment but the look of fear did not leave his eyes completely.

"I got your six, remember?" Tony continued, knowing that as soon as he asked this next question, there would be no turning back.

"Yeah," AJ whispered, fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"AJ," Tony finally said, "Has Martin ever hit you or your mom?"

* * *

"It's been a week Gibbs," Abby said, looking at the little dot on her computer, "Tony hasn't moved from that spot in over a week."

Setting her Caf-Pow gently on the table, Gibbs kissed her lightly on the check, "He emailed everyone five days ago, saying everything was fine. As much as I want to drive down there and figure out what's going on, DiNozzo knows we have his six. He'll call when he's ready."

Abby sighed, and glanced longingly at the dot, as if she could will it back to DC, "How long do you think he'll be gone Gibbs?"

"He's not gone Abby," Gibbs said, "Now get back to work. I need those results now."

"You got it Gibbs," Abby stood but her voice lack her usually luster. She missed Tony. Hell, they all missed Tony and his second in command had only been gone for a week.

Not knowing what else to say to his favorite Goth, Gibbs walked out of the lab and towards the morgue. Maybe Ducky would have some thoughts on what Tony could possibly be doing in Baltimore.

* * *

"Um, Special Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up and glared at the slightly twitching form in front of him.

"Yeah?" Gibbs turned the stare down slightly, not wanting the guy to go into cardiac arrest.

"Um," the man fumbled with something in his pocket before extending it forward, "Director Vance, sir, he uh-he assigned me-"

"I already have a Probie," Gibbs growled. He was in a bad mood. His coffee shop down the street had been closed and his was currently in caffeine withdrawal until McGee got back with his coffee.

"Um," the man visibly shrank. Gibbs huffed silently. Did they even train these guys?

"What?" Gibbs asked, raising an eyebrow. He could see Ziva in the corner of his eye watching, and the look on her face showed that she was prepared to break out the trash bags to clean up the mess after Gibbs was done with this fool.

"I'm not a-uh, a Probie," the man, loosened his collar, "I'm your TAD."

"What?!" Gibbs stood, bristling as he grabbed the paper out of the cowering man's hand and stormed up the stairs to Vance's office.

Ziva, seeing that no physical harm had been done to the Agent, shrugged her shoulders and went back to work. Physically she held the air of nonchalance, as if this sort of thing happened everyday.

But internally, she was worried about Tony.

* * *

"TAD? What the hell is this Leon?" Gibbs stormed in, blowing passed Cynthia would had long since stopped trying.

"Good evening Special Agent Gibbs," Leon said before getting on the inercom with his secretary, "Cynthia, hold all my calls for a few minutes."

"What is this Leon?" Gibbs said again, setting the paperwork down, "I don't need a TAD. I have a full team. Unless you know something that I don't."

Vance reached down and put a toothpick in his mouth before answering Gibbs' question, "Agent DiNozzo called in this morning, requesting to talk to me specifically. He asked for the next month off."

Gibbs glared, "Why didn't he call me?"

Leon's expression didn't change, "I don't know Gibbs. But I can assure you right now, I did not send Tony undercover nor did I reassign him. DiNozzo has enough leave time to cover his request and I granted it."

"Did he give you a reason why?" Gibbs asked a few moments later, after the fire in his belly had somewhat subsided.

"Family emergency," Vance answered, "I didn't ask anything more."

Gibbs scowled, not likely the situation at all.

"A month?" Gibbs asked.

"A month," Vance nodded before watching Gibbs leave, just as quickly as he had entered.

Waiting till the door was closed, Vance closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Maybe he would leave work a bit early today.

* * *

"Gibbs!" Abby said, practically tackling Gibbs as he entered the bullpen.

Seeing his coffee on his desk, Gibbs evaded her attack and grabbed the still steaming cup of caffeine before taking a long gulp. Already feeling better, Gibbs now turned to Abby.

"What's up Abbs?" Gibbs asked, sitting at his desk.

"Tony's dot! It moved!" Abby said rather loudly.

Knowing it would do no good to hush her, Gibbs lifted an eyebrow, "Where to?"

"Well," Abby said, suddenly deflated, "It started moving and then, well. Then Tony dot died. Not Tony Boss, at least I don't think Tony's died, cause I mean you would know about if he had because your gut-"

"Abby," Gibbs said, getting the forensic scientist back on track.

"Tony's cell phone died. Or was shut off," Abby said sadly, "So he could be anywhere by now."

Sighing, Gibbs took another drink, before gesturing for McGee and Ziva to come closer. Both jumped out of their seats quickly and by the look on Tim's face, Ziva had undoubtedly told her partner what had transpired while he had been away.

"Tony's taken a month off," Gibbs said quickly, hoping that the team wouldn't ask him question he had no answers to, "Vance approved it. He'll be back in a month."

"Um," McGee started but Ziva cut him off.

"This is not a coat up of an undercover operation, right Gibbs?"

"Cover up," McGee said quietly, but looking at Gibbs for the answer to the question.

"Don't think so," Gibbs shook his head, "Tony had a family emergency. He'll be here in a few weeks and we can ask him then.

"But," Abby said quietly, "We're his family. And his dad lives in New York. His dot was nowhere near there. It was outside of Baltimore. What family does he have in Baltimore?"

"Maybe he has a frat brother or a friend on Baltimore PD," Gibbs shrugged, before dismissing them all with a wave. McGee and Ziva walked back silently to their desks, each wondering what exactly Tony could be doing.

Abby, who looked devastated, stayed a moment longer before sighing sadly. If Gibbs knew Abby, she was probably headed down to her lab to grab Bert.

Taking another sip of his coffee, Gibbs worked hard to keep the worry off his face.

_What the hell are you doing DiNozzo?_

* * *

**A/N: The last chapter of this will be up soon! And don't forget to review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Today, I received the most awesome-est news. After five months of pain staking, back breaking days and night filled with long studying that never seemed to end, I got an A in my Anatomy class. Words cannot describe the joy I feel. If I did not have as much self-control as I currently have, I would go out and do something spontaneous, like get a tattoo. Or go sky diving. **

**But since I have self-control *cough* no money *cough* I shall instead share my joy and give you the last chapter for this story. Shall there be more you ask? Well… I don't understand it really. This whole little thing was never suppose to be more than one little story. But the plot bunnies are hiding outside my door and I have to go to the bathroom soon so I know there will be no stopping them as soon as I open the door. **

* * *

Chapter Two

_One Month Later_

"Hit the road Jack, don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more," Tony sang softly as he walked slowly into the bullpen, glad that no one from his team had yet arrived for the workday.

"Oh baby, oh baby don't you treat me this way, well I'll be back on my feet someday…" Tony started his computer, sitting down carefully in his nice, heavily padded desk chair. He knew buying the highly priced office furniture would someday help him greatly. And this, Tony sighed and closed his eyes in contentment, was definitely one of those times.

Tony continued to hum the tune of the Ray Charles song, tapping his fingers against his thigh as if he were playing the piano.

In his mind's eye he could see it. Ben and he were at a local café, the only place in the area that had a grand piano and always encouraged anyone to play it.

Tony was already behind it, warming up his fingers with some easy songs, and in the corner of the café, by the kitchen door, Ben was adjusting a valve on his trumpet and making sure the mute was in place.

Satisfied that everything was up to par, Ben walked over and waited for Tony to finish. Letting the patrons clap briefly, Ben started playing.

In his daydream, Ben was playing a song from Louis Armstrong, and just like the legend, Ben was putting his heart and soul into the music.

He continued to play, and while he did, he looked over at Tony, silently asking him why he wasn't joining in. Tony knew a lot of songs-could play a lot from memory, so normally Ben would play a song he knew and nine times out of ten, Tony knew the song or he could improvise.

This time though, Tony knew the song.

But he didn't want to mess up Ben's music.

So he sat back and listened as his best friend played a song that he loved.

Then with a blink of an eye, he was back in the quiet bullpen, only the memory of a trumpet playing ringing in his ears.

The elevator dinged and Tony could hear the raised voices of McGee and Ziva, arguing about…

A movie?

"You do not understand McGee," Ziva argued, obviously flustered, "I have discussed this in my class, there would have been no better way to end-"

"No," McGee said, cutting his partner off, "I can't believe we are arguing about this. Even the critics said it was a cliché ending. Nothing you can say will change how I feel about this Ziva."

Deciding to see how far this would good, Tony hid behind his computer, listening to his teammates argue.

"McGee, I will not tolerate you ruining such a good movie with your chivalrous thoughts, in fact-"

"Back already DiNozzo?" Gibbs said calmly as he strode into the bullpen, sipping his coffee before sitting down, "Have a nice vacation?"

Tony straighten up, _slowly,_ and smiled nervously at his Boss, "Um, hey Gibbs, I-uh, I guess," Tony started but stopped when a black blur flew across the bullpen, hitting him with enough force to take his breath away.

"TONY!" Abby yelled, hugging her favorite Senior Field Agent, "Tony, where," Abby started but pulled back quickly when she saw Tony's red face and his watery eyes.

"Tony?" Abby said meekly, her own voice showing that she was suddenly on the edge of tears, "Tony, are you okay? Did I, did I hurt you?"

Tony would have answered, if he had heard her. All he could see right now was the floor, everything else was a nice deep black and all he could hear was the pounding of his heart in his chest as the spikes of pain travel up his body.

Oh God, Tony thought, Who knew it would be Abby and not Martin that finally did him in?

"Tony!" Tony heard Gibbs call his name and Tony tried to lift his head, tried to breathe properly but no matter what he did, the pain wouldn't leave.

He was going to die. He was going to die and no one would be there to help-to help-

Tony slumped to the ground as he lost consciousness. At least there wasn't any pain there.

* * *

"_AJ," Ben called from across the bull pen, "Morgan's cooking homemade spaghetti, you want to come over?"_

"_You had me at homemade," Tony shut down his computer before gathering the few loose notes he had, "She doesn't mind?"_

"_Mind?" AJ laughed, "She always asking me, 'Is Tony eating alright', 'Did Tony take those vitamins I sent over', 'Do you think we should invite Tony over', and so on and so on. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was just trying to seduce you."_

"_Ben," Tony scowled at the insinuation, even if it was said it jest._

"_Awh, I'm just kidding," Ben laughed, "Besides. She has to butter you up. You're the only one Morgan trusts with babysitting little AJ and this weekend we're going on a date."_

"_So this meal is my payment?" Tony asked as he followed Ben outside, each walking to their respective cars._

"_Maybe," Ben said before looking over his shoulder, "But don't tell her I told you so."_

* * *

Tony groaned as opened his eyes, only to slam them back down again when the harsh light of Ducky's office assaulted his eyes.

"Wha?" Tony said, his tongue still asleep apparently. How many of those Advil's had he taken this morning?

"Anthony my dear boy," Ducky's face appeared in his vision, the older man smiling down at him, "Though I wish we could have greeted each other under better circumstances, I am very glad that you are indeed back with us."

"Tony I'm so sorry!" Tony heard Abby say somewhere to the left of him, "I didn't know you were hurt!"

"S'okay Abbs," Tony got up slowly, wincing when his whole body protested, "Your hugs are usually the best part of my morning."

Smiling but still teary-eyed, Abby walked forward and gave Tony an air hug, "I'm glad you're back Tony."

"Glad to be back Abby," Tony smiled but the smile immediately left his face when he caught sight of Gibbs expression.

"Who did that to you DiNozzo?" Gibbs said in his Marine voice. The tone of voice that said: "You better tell me the truth right now or I will have to grab you by the belt so that when I kick you in the ass you don't go flying to the Eastern Hemisphere". It was the kind of voice that Tony normally obeyed.

Except this time.

"Got in a fight," Tony huffed slightly, "Buddy of mind fell off the wagon and he didn't take kindly to anyone trying to shove him back on."

Gibbs stared at Tony for a few moments, before sighing, "He alright?"

Tony shrugged, "He'll be okay eventually."

"Good," Gibbs said before turning on his heel, "You're on light duty till a doctor's note."

Tony cringed at the tone of voice Gibbs still used, and looked over to Ducky for support. The elder ME just tapped Tony encouragingly on the shoulder before making his way back to the body that was on a table.

"They have a case?" Tony asked Abby as he made his way to the elevator.

"No, not right now," Abby said, pointing to the body, "That's Balboa's case."

"Okay," Tony nodded before giving Abby a real hug, "And thanks Abby. I know you didn't mean to hurt me."

Abby hugged back carefully, before giving him a quick kiss on the check, "No hurry up. McGee and Ziva have been arguing about this stupid movie for days now and I think they really need your opinion."

Tony smiled and stepped into the elevator when it arrived, "See you around Abby."

* * *

After spending all day being questioned by his teammates, Tony was extremely glad that he was such a good liar. As horrible as that sounded, Tony had no intention of introducing them to the four people he had brought back with him from Baltimore.

At least not in the near future.

Morgan had been a wreck, for days. No matter what Martin had done to her, she had loved him and had always thought that it had just been her.

When she had found out that Martin had dare raise a hand to her firstborn son, Tony has suddenly seen why Ben had always been so afraid of getting Morgan mad.

She was short and petite but when she was angry, honestly angry, she grew seven inches. Tony would bet his badge on it.

After saving Martin from Morgan's wrath, Tony had had to deal with so much. He only knew a handful of people on the BPD but even then, they had been almost reluctant to believe one of their own would do such a horrible thing to his family, well at least to his step-son and wife.

When Martin's chief had dare tried to slip the whole "report" under the rug, Tony had bristled, threatening to involve his federal "buddies" if the chief tried anything hinky.

It had all come to a head about a week before Tony had come back to work. Martin had been placed in lock up after he had harassed Morgan despite a temporary protective order, and Tony had been in the final processes of helping Morgan pack the last of their stuff so that it could be shipped to Tony's house in D.C.

Tony had only bought the four bedroom house a few months ago, after the whole fiasco with Rivkin and Ziva leaving, but ironically, it was perfect for the current situation. One of the rooms was on the other side of the house and the realtor told him it had been where the previous home owners had let their in-laws stay. Tony saw why-it had its own bathroom, it's own living area, and it even a door that exited the house right by the garage.

Tony hold planned to move his stuff into that "wing" of the house. Morgan had baulked, said that she should be the one to stay there, but Tony had merely shrugged. He was rarely home and Morgan worked from home. Besides, Tony knew Morgan would prefer to be closer to the other bedrooms, where the AJ, Benny and April would sleep.

Tony had been loading the last of the boxes when Martin, who had miraculously been let out of jail, and surprised him, hitting him with a bat across the head.

Tony had been disoriented but before he could even fully process what had happened, Morgan was out and screaming and Martin, yelling at him to stop.

Martin hadn't though and Tony hadn't been able to move until two patrolling police officers had tackled Martin, shoving him in the ground.

Tony had received a concussion, two broken ribs, a few that were cracked, and a severely sore chest.

After that, Baltimore PD had had no problems keeping Martin away from Tony and Morgan's family.

Reaching for his bag, Tony held it in his hand instead of placing it on his shoulder.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, stepping into the elevator alongside his Senior Field Agent, "You okay for tonight?"

Tony smiled, knowing that he wouldn't be needing to lie to answer this question, "Yeah Boss. I'll be alright."

"You bring the beer?" Gibbs said, raising an eyebrow.

"No," Tony shook his head, "I've got the Family waiting for me when I get home."

"That a movie or something?" Gibbs asked as the doors opened to the first floor.

"Yeah," Tony smirked, "Something like that."

Watching Tony for a second longer, Gibbs nodded and let the doors close.

Tony waited till he was sure Gibbs wasn't going to follow him and headed for the entrance.

Morgan was picking him up to take him home, since she refused to let his drive with his injuries.

And maybe, if Tony was lucky, Morgan had cooked spaghetti for dinner.

If not, Tony thought as he waved to the security guard, there was always pizza.

* * *

"Uncle Tony!" April yelled, running down the stairs, "Did you get the bad guys today?"

Tony gave the six year old a one arm hug before setting his bag down by the front door, "Lot's of them."

"So they're won't be any mean guys to hit anyone?" April asked, following her Uncle into the kitchen.

"Mommy made spanetti!" Benny yelled when he saw his Uncle walk through the door, "And Ms. O'Leary let me have some to try!"

"Thank you Ms. O'Leary," Tony said, smiling at his elderly neighbor, "I know they can be a handful."

"It's no problem watching them for you while Morgan goes to pick you up. Like I told you, anytime you need the help" Ms. O'Leary stood, snatching her cane from where it was propped up against the table, "Besides. They're no more a handful than my grandkids."

Thanking her once again, Tony settled down on the kitchen chair while Morgan walked Ms. O'Leary towards the door.

"Where's AJ?" Tony asked Morgan, when she returned moments later.

"He's resting," Morgan said, smoothing out her blouse in a nervous gesture, "He's been in his room all day. I think he might be coming down with the flu."

"I'll go check on him," Tony stood, carefully, making sure to hide the wince and cringe of pain from Morgan. He didn't want her feeling anymore guilty than she was already. She had enough on her plate as it was.

"Tony, you don't need," Morgan started but Tony shook his hand, placating her with the gesture.

"I'll be right back, and when I come back, I'll take a big whole plate of your spaghetti as payment," Tony said, ruffling Benny's hair before walking towards the stairs and knocking on AJ's bedroom door.

Hearing a meek reply to enter, Tony opened the door carefully. AJ's room already looked lived in-dirty clothes in the hamper and posters on the wall. The room that AJ was using had been Tony's somewhat office so it still had the computer table, complete with a laptop for AJ's new school that was right down the road. Morgan had already enrolled all three of her kids at the elementary school- AJ in 6th grade, April in 2nd grade and Benny in 1st grade. They started school in a month, which would hopefully give the kids enough time to adjust to their new house.

All had taken the move well, all except for AJ. AJ had cried for hours after he had told Tony the horrible truth and no matter what Tony said, AJ wouldn't let go of the thought that this whole situation was his own fault.

"Hey Squirt," Tony sat on the bed, rubbing the kid's back gently before rolling the AJ over, "How you feeling?"

"Fine," AJ said, rubbing his eyes. They were bloodshot and puffy, had been for a month now, and Tony knew that he had to do something to help AJ.

"I can see that," Tony replied, before motioning for AJ to get up, "You feeling up to some dinner?"

"Not hungry," AJ mumbled, making a move to lay back down, Tony's hand on his shoulder the only thing stopping him.

"AJ," Tony said, making sure he was looking the boy right in the eye, "This isn't your fault."

AJ didn't say anything though. Just blinked once and sighed, his only indication that he heard what Tony said.

"AJ," Tony said, rubbing his face. This was the ace in his sleeve. While what he was going to say next would hurt his inner most being, he knew that if he didn't say this now, AJ might never forgive himself and carry this weight with him forever. Knowing how that felt, Tony would be damned before he let AJ go through the same thing.

"Do you know," Tony choked out before taking a deep breath and continuing, "Do you know how your dad died, right?"

AJ bit his lip, and Tony could see the wheels in AJ's head working as he tried to figure out where Tony's was going with this.

"He was shot by a bad guy," AJ said quietly, almost carefully, as if he were afraid of answering this question wrong.

"Yeah," Tony said, smiling briefly at AJ's choice of words, "He was shot. You know he was my partner right?"

"Yeah," AJ answered, "Your best friend too. He-uh-he named me after you."

"That's right," Tony said quietly, drawing the boy close, "Did I ever tell you that I wasn't there when your dad got shot?"

AJ pulled back sharply, hurt flashing through his eyes, "But you were his partner. Why weren't you there?"

Tony realized he asked himself the same question every day, "You're dad could run faster than I could. A lot faster. He was quick on his feet and when we saw the bad guy running, your dad took off after him. He didn't want him to get away. He didn't want him to hurt anyone else."

AJ didn't say anything as Tony explained what had happened. He just sat there and watched.

"They ran ahead of me," Tony continued, even though he had hoped he would never have to tell this story again, "And I tripped. I fell, flat on my face. You see, I'm really clumsy sometimes and even when we were kids, me and your Dad would race and I would always trip. This time, I tripped too. But I got up as quick as I could. But by the time I got there, the bad guy had shot your dad. I got him AJ, I got the bad guy, but your dad got hurt. He died AJ, because I couldn't stop a bad guy from doing bad things."

AJ's eyes filled with tears and Tony did nothing to stop AJ's, or his own tears, from falling.

"Sometimes," Tony said, holding AJ tightly, hoping his nephew wouldn't hate him after this was over, "Sometimes the bad guys win for a little while. Sometimes the good guys can't stop the bad guys from hurting people. But you know what?"

AJ let out a sob and reached for Tony, laying his head on Tony's chest.

"The good guys will never give up. Even if they trip along the way. They'll always get back up because if they stay down, then the bad guy wins AJ. Don't let the bad guys win AJ. Don't let Martin win."

AJ nodded, burying himself deeper into Tony's chest, finally letting out all the anger and helplessness he had felt for so long. Tony grabbed hold of him, twelve year old body and broken ribs be damned, and held him like he held him the first time he had ever laid eyes on the little boy wrapped in the hospital blanket.

"It wasn't your fault AJ," Tony soothed now, knowing that AJ had to hear these words. Hopefully, if he heard them enough he would start believing them, "It was never your fault. Martin hurt you and your mom. You never did anything wrong."

They stayed that way for the rest of the day. Tony held AJ as the boy finally sighed, relaxing into his embrace and falling asleep.

Tony shifted the older boy, laying him down gently on the dark green covers.

Standing stiffly, Tony turned to walk out of the room when AJ reached out and snagged Tony's wrist.

"Uncle Tony?" AJ mumbled, half asleep, "It wasn't your fault either."

Tony held back a sob, and nodded, smoothing the boy's hair out as he fell asleep.

"I love you Squirt," Tony smiled.

"I love you too," AJ sighed, closing his eyes, "And I'm glad my dad named me after you."

Tony smiled through the tears before walking out of the room and down the steps.

Morgan was cleaning the kitchen rigorously and Tony watched her for a moment.

As if sensing the man's presence, Morgan turned suddenly and her eyes widened at the sight of Tony's red ones.

"I told him," Tony whispered, "And he still loves me."

Morgan nodded, before turning around and retrieving a warm plate out of the microwave. Setting the plate of spaghetti down, she lead Tony to the table and kissed him on the check.

"Thank you Tony," Morgan murmured, "You've-you've done so much. For this family. For _your _family."

Tony nodded and accepted Morgan's hug.

"Thank you," Tony breathed, wishing Ben was here to eat the spaghetti with him.

Morgan smiled and sat down. Later, they would go to their respective rooms and have to deal with their demons.

But right now, the two sat in the cozy kitchen listening to the soft sounds of a jazz trumpet fill the house, each content with the fact that everyone in their family was safe and sound for the night.

* * *

_Tony and Ben sat on the chairs outside, each detective nursing a sweating beer bottle in the cool Baltimore summer night._

_"What's on your mind Ben?" Tony smiled, shoving his friend good naturedly, being careful not to be too loud. AJ had just gone to sleep and Morgan would have their heads if they woke the little tyke up._

_"Just thinking," Ben took a swing of his beer, "About life I guess."_

_"That's deep Ben," Tony laughed, until he caught the serious look in Ben's gaze, "Everything alright Ben?"_

_"Huh?" Ben looked at Tony, "Oh yeah AJ. Everything's alright. I'm just, you know. Thinking about what Morgan and little AJ would do if anything were to ever happen to me."_

_"Dude," Tony scowled slightly. He had lost too many people in his life. He didn't want to even talk about losing anyone else, "Nothing's going to happen to you. Don't even talk like that."_

_"You don't know that," Ben said calmly. Not angry, like Tony had heard most people sound when they talked about the horrors of police work, "No one knows that."_

_"I got your back," Tony said, "I'll watch out for you."_

_"Me too," Ben said, clinking beers with Tony, "But you know. Just in case-"_

_"Ben," Tony wanted to head this conversation off at the pass. Maybe he could get Ben to talk about his trumpet or that new jazz CD he had bought…_

_"No AJ, hear me out," Ben said, turning so that he was fully facing Tony, "If anything ever happens to me, and I'm not saying that it's going to, I want you to look at for Morgan and little AJ."_

_"Ben, you know I would," Tony nodded, figuring the quicker they got this conversation over with the faster they could change topics, "You guys are my family."_

_"Swear?" Ben said, holding out his hand, as if the swear would keep them safe for years to come._

_Seeing that this was really freaking Ben out for some reason, Tony nodded and sealed the promise with his word and handshake, "Yeah, swear."_

_"Alright then," Ben nodded, taking another sip of his beer._

_"I'll even make sure Morgan cooks me spaghetti all the time, in your honor," Tony joked, hoping to lighten Ben's mood._

_Ben smiled and let out a small laugh, looking up at the few stars that were visible from his chair, "Yeah, AJ. Make sure that you do."_

_"That," Tony sighed and finally relaxed into his chair also, "Is a promise I can keep." _

_**Fin**_

* * *

**A/N2: Thank you to all who read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted with story. I am very glad that you like it. :) Look for more stories in this verse, though don't expect anything until after May 14th, the day I am official finished with school. :)**


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